1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a novel automated filling machine in which at one end empty containers are introduced to the novel automated filling machine and at the other end a completed filled, sealed and optionally labeled and processed container is presented for packaging and shipment. More particularly the novel automated filling machine is designed to handle bulk containers and includes an input end for receiving empty bulk containers and incrementally advancing the empty bulk containers to a number of work stations including a filling station where the container is automatically filled by weight or by volume with a bulk material, which filled bulk container is then automatically transferred to a lid application work station where lids are automatically advanced to a position over the top of the bulk container and placed in registry with the sealing lip of the bulk container.
A piston having a lid pad at the terminal end in combination with a lid fixation plate is advanced onto the top of the bulk container lid resulting in the lid pad first contacting the center area of the bulk container lid and deforming the bulk container lid at the center of the lid downwardly toward the center of the bulk container prior to the contact of the lid fixation plate to subsequently push the perimeter of the bulk container lid down over the perimeter of the bulk container to lock the bulk container lid onto the bulk container. Means is provided on the perimeter of the lid fixation plate to limit the lateral expansion of the sides of the lid to prevent damages to the sides of the lid and maintain the integrity of any tear strip seal provided at the lower side of the lid.
The lid pad assists in the expelling of excess air or gasses from the interior of the bulk container by the deformation of the bulk container lid prior to the advancement of the lid fixation or lid attachment mechanism to seal the bulk container. The lid attachment mechanism also includes a container positioning mechanism for positioning the container directly under the lid application work station before a lid is placed in registry with the lip of the container. An optional gassing port may be provided to gas the bulk container prior to the application of the bulk container lid in some filling operations. Once the bulk container lid is applied and sealed to the container the filled and sealed container is then automatically advanced from the sealing station to an optional labeling station where the container is labeled with a container label prior to its advancement to an optional accumulation device for accumulating the filled, sealed and labeled containers before removal or advancement of the containers in predetermined groups to a shipment placket.
The novel automated filling machine is designed in the best mode to automatically advance one container from a nested stack of containers and preferably fill at least one container while at least one other container is being sealed and optionally at least one other bulk container is being labeled in a fully automated operation. In a further embodiment of the invention the optional accumulation device is provided to accumulate filled sealed and labeled containers in groups of containers prior to being transferred from the novel automated bulk filling machine. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the operation of filling, sealing and optionally labeling and accumulating the filled, sealed and labeled bulk containers occurs simultaneously along the length of the conveyor surface of the novel automated filling machine to increase the capacity and output of the automated filling machine.
The novel automated filling machine in the best mode utilizes a novel fill valve nozzle as may be obtained from Cott Technologies Inc. of La Puente, Calif. for dispensing dairy, pharmaceutical and medical products requiring the highest standards in handling. Such valves typically employ a clean in place mechanism and a positive control over the fill material to provide a sanitary and hygienic filling operation for a product filling machine. The valve of the best mode of the invention is of a tapered elongated configuration that may be lowered into the bulk container and raised as the container is filled to provide a more efficient bulk container filling operation. The filling operation can be accomplished by filling by weight or by volume and where precise metering is required an optional weigh scale is provided underneath the bulk filling container to operate a positive control fill valve to dispense a flowable product into the container by weight.
Alternatively, the novel automated bulk filling machine can dispense a fluidized product based upon volume utilizing novel two way and three way and fill valves as may be obtained from Cott Technologies, Inc. of La Puente, Calif. In either embodiment or application of the filling machine the novel automated filling machine provides an efficient, hygienic and completely automated filling, sealing and optional labeling operation for filling containers consistent with the highest standards of food, medicinal and pharmaceutical processing operations. The novel automated filling machine, while in its preferred embodiment may be utilized for bulk filling operations for food, pharmaceutical and medicinal materials, it may also be utilized to fill containers with other frangible, flowable particulate materials such as animal feeds, fertilizers, cat litter, cement and other fluidized or flowable materials.
2. Description Of Related Prior Art
A number of automated bulk filling machines are present in the prior art for filling flexible containers with various types of fill material including food dairy products, seeds, grains, cat litter and pet foods. These bulk containers are generally buckets or tubs made of plastic or metal which include a sealing lip which sealably engages a plastic or metal lid having a corresponding sealing lip for securing the top of the container to the flexible plastic or metal bucket forming the bulk container. Such buckets and tubs are typically in the range of about three gallons to about five gallons of liquid material or holds from about 30 to 50 pounds of particulate material. The larger of the plastic buckets contain lids having a seal strip which provides a second seal for the bulk container which is generally removed by the consumer at the time of the opening of the bulk container.
The automated bulk filling machine of the invention is also advantageously applied to the automated bulk filling of metal cans and containers such as are utilized in holding greases, oils and other lubricants which have a 5 to 25 gallon capacity which are closed with either a metallic or plastic lid.
In such large bulk containers, the lids are generally pressed over the top of the metal bucket or container and the metal or plastic lid is attached to the lip of the bucket to form a seal and a second metal or plastic sealing strip is disposed around the circumference of the lid to provide a sealing tab which is removed by the consumer. Alternatively such large metal pails or buckets can include a metal crimp which is then crimped around the circumference of the lid to a groove in the bucket which is uncrimped by the end consumer.
Such bulk containers in the form of buckets, pails or large cans have been filled through a large bulk filling nozzle by weight or by volume and have traditionally not been automated in a single automated bulk filling machine or operation. Such buckets have been filled manually from a filling nozzle and moved down a conveyor to separate machines for further packaging and subsequent shipment. The best known prior art of such filling processes includes a machine for attaching lids to bulk containers manufactured by Heisler Industries, Inc. Of Fairfield, N.J., in which lids are dispensed down a track and mated at an angle to the container before sealing the lip of the lid to the lip of the container. These prior art machines unlike the invention do not apply the lid in complete registry with the bulk container or press the center of the container to remove excess gas from the interior of the container prior to sealing the container.
The best known prior art includes Naef U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,894, Huck U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,258 and Strand, et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,467,845 and 4,420,021. These prior art patents pertain to the dispensation of fluidized bulk materials into bags or containers. Such prior art does not provide a fully automated bulk filling machine or operation as provided by the invention in which a fluidized material is automatically dispensed either by volume or weight into a plastic or metal bucket which is then automatically transferred to a work station for automatically precisely positioning the container before applying the lid and sealing the lid to the bulk container and then moving the sealed container by conveyor to a labeling work station where the container is then labeled and then finally transferring the container by conveyor to an optional accumulation conveyor or device for accumulating the filled, sealed, labeled containers for subsequent disposition on a shipment placket.
Other prior art uncovered includes Bennett, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,859, which provides an automatic filling machine for filling containers with a time flow volumetric liquid of a predetermined quantity. Bennett, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,859 does not provide for both the filling of containers and the application of the lid in a single machine.
Launay U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,049 pertains to a bulk filling machine for filling bulk containers with a product such as ice cream. The metering and balancing device of Launay U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,049 does not provide a fully automated process of filling, applying a lid, sealing, labeling and optionally accumulating bulk containers in a fully automated process. None of the known prior art teaches or suggests a single fully automated bulk filling machine having the ability to provide a plurality of work stations in which the sequential separation and advancement of a bulk container from a stack of bulk containers is achieved at one station while the filling of another bulk container occurs at another station while a previously filled container is being sealed at another station while a previously filled and sealed container is optionally labeled at a further station. None of the prior art further teaches or suggests the utilization of an indexing and conveyor system in combination with a lid application device which accurately positions the container on the conveyor before automatically placing a lid in flat registry with the container before sealing the container.
None of the prior art teaches or suggests the application of a sealing lid by the automatic advancement of a lid from a lid dispensing device to deposit the lid on the top of the bulk container and then provide for a piston cylinder combination for pushing down the center of the lid over the bulk container to not only place the lid on the container but also to assist in the removal of excess air between the lid of the container and the container before applying pressure to the periphery of the container to seal the container while limiting lateral expansion of the sides of the lid to prevent damage to the lid and seal. The removal of excess air and the sealing of the container by forcing the interlocking lips and grooves of the lid and the container prior to the sealing of the container not only assists in the sealing of the container but also reduces the atmospheric gases and pressure in the container to provide a bulk container with a decreased volume of air inside the container to provide a superior packaged product.
The invention pertains to an automated filling and sealing machine and method for filling and sealing containers in which one or more containers are automatically filled by weight or by volume at a filling station at one end of the filling machine while one or more previously filled containers are being sealed at a sealing station on the novel filling machine while one or more containers are being labeled at a labeling station on the novel filling machine while one or more other containers are being accumulated or transported from the other end of the novel bulk filling machine. The novel filling machine is particularly applicable to bulk containers and provides a compact, efficient, automated filling, sealing, labeling and conveying apparatus for automatically filling, sealing and optionally labeling containers. The efficiency of the novel bulk filling machine and method of the invention is achieved by employing a plurality of work stations along the length of a conveyor for completing a plurality of operating processes necessary for separation, filling and handling of bulk containers in a highly efficient and automated processing operation.
The novel automated filling machine includes at the input end, a conveyor for receiving a bulk container for receiving a flowable or fluidized material through a dispensing nozzle disposed above the conveyor. In the best mode of the invention an optional container separation station is provided for separating each bulk container from a stack of bulk containers before introducing the separated bulk container to the conveyor. The separation of a bulk container from a stack of bulk containers is indexed or coordinated with the filling, sealing and any optional handling operations on the container on the novel bulk filling machine.
The dispensing nozzle meters a fluidized material into the bulk container on either a by volume or by weight fill. The fluidized material can be any type of flowable material such as liquid, gel, colloid or fluidized particulate matter for dispensation into the bulk container. In the case of dispensing fluid products by volume, a homogeneous mixture of fluid or flowable material is dispensed through the nozzle at a constant rate to provide the required volume of bulk material in the container. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the bulk container can be filled by weight in which case a scale may be disposed below the bulk container which takes the tare weight of the bulk container and controls the precise metering of the fluidized material into the bulk container to the predetermined weight. In the best mode of the invention the dispensing nozzle is of a tapered or elongated configuration that may be lowered into the bulk container and raised during the filling operation to reduce sloshing and frothing in the case of liquid materials and dust in the case of particulate material and air pockets in the case of heavy viscous materials to more efficiently fill the bulk container from the bottom to the top.
Once the bulk container has been filled by weight or volume the conveyor device is started and the container is automatically transported to a sealing station where the filled container is precisely positioned on the conveyor before a lid is placed over the top of the container so that the lip of the bulk container is in complete registry with the mating groove of the lid. The lid is transported by a shuttle assembly operated by a piston to set the lid in a precise location centered directly over the bulk container. A piston carrying the lid attachment mechanism is then advanced toward the center of the bulk container lid resulting in a lid pad carried at the center of the lid attachment mechanism to first contact the center of the bulk container lid causing the bulk container lid to deform at the center of the lid to force air from the container around the periphery of the lid prior to the advancement of a frame on the lid attachment mechanism for pressing the lip of the bulk container into the groove of the lip to seal the lid onto the top of the container.
Simultaneous with the attachment and sealing of the lid to the previously filled bulk container a new bulk container is optionally separated from a stack of bulk containers while a previously separated container is advanced and filled at the filling station of the novel bulk filling machine. Once the separating, filling and sealing operations are complete the conveyor again moves to advance the previously sealed container to an optional labeling station while the previously filled container is moved to the sealing station and a new container is optionally separated and advanced to the filling station. At the optional labeling station, a label is applied to the outside of the container as the bulk container is rotated on the conveyor belt and while the previously filled container is positioned and then sealed and a new container is being filled at the filling station of the novel bulk filling machine. As will be recognized by those skilled in the art bulk containers may already contain labels that are painted, embossed or otherwise already attached to the bulk container which may be filled and sealed in the novel automated filling machine without utilizing the optional labeling station.
Thereafter the optional separation station separates a new bulk container and advances the separated container to the conveyor of the novel bulk filling machine which is then also again advanced to receive a new bulk container at the filling station while a previously filled container is advanced to the sealing station and the previous sealed container is advanced to the optional labeling station and the previously labeled container is either removed from the conveyor of the novel bulk filler machine or is accumulated in and optional accumulator device for accumulating bulk containers in a predetermined set of bulk containers in a number compatible for deployment for a particular shipping pallet. In some cases the optional accumulation device may accumulate bulk containers in sets of twos or fours or any other particular number prior to releasing the containers in a bulk array desired for a particular type of shipping pallet.
The optional accumulation device may be configured in a variety of ways and can be in the form of a U-shaped rail pivotally mounted near the center of the novel bulk filling machine and attached at the other end by a piston cylinder combination for elevationally pivoting the U-shaped accumulator rail away from the novel bulk filler machine conveyor bed to allow a predetermined number of filled, sealed and labeled containers to be removed in groups from the novel bulk filler machine.
The intermittent operation of the conveyor of the novel bulk filler machine and the bulk container separation device may be provided by one or more drive motors for separating and advancing the bulk containers on an optional bulk container separating device or it may include a single drive motor for driving the container separation device as well as driving the conveyor bed through a drive chain and sprockets for transporting bulk containers from the filling station to the sealing station and to the labeling station and out from the output end of the novel bulk filler machine. The novel bulk filler machine also preferably includes a fully automated control system for controlling the separation, advancement, filling, sealing and labeling operations of the bulk filling operation so that floor space and labor are kept to a minimum in the automatic filling of bulk containers.
More particularly the optional bulk container separation and advancement device includes at the inlet end an upstand for receiving and holding a plurality of stacked bulk containers. A first pair of laterally adjacent bulk container lip latching mechanisms are designed to periodically stabilize and hold the stack of bulk containers at the lip. The first pair of laterally adjacent lip latching mechanisms are preferably activated by a piston cylinder combination while other arrangements of latches and rachet and pawl mechanisms and devices may be utilized.
A second pair of laterally adjacent bulk container latching mechanisms disposed axially adjacent to the first pair of lip latching mechanisms are provided to periodically stabilize and hold the stack of bulk containers at the lip of the bulk container. The second pair of laterally adjacent lip latching mechanisms are also preferably activated by a piston cylinder combination although like the first pair of laterally adjacent lip latching mechanisms other mechanical arrangements of latches and rachet mechanisms may be utilized.
The first pair of laterally adjacent bulk container lip latching mechanisms cooperate with the second set of laterally adjacent lip latching mechanisms to periodically stabilize and hold the stack of bulk containers. In operation the release of the first pair of laterally adjacent bulk container lip latching mechanisms lowers the stack of the bulk containers to the second pair of laterally adjacent bulk container latching mechanisms. The first pair of laterally adjacent bulk container lip mechanisms is then activated to engage the lip of the next successive bulk container and the second pair of lip latching mechanisms are released to allow the previous bulk container to be removed from the bottom of the stack. A pair of vertically disposed cylinders with lip engagement means is preferably utilized to push the bulk container into the inlet of the novel bulk filling machine.
Once the bulk containers are denested from the nested stack of containers the bulk containers are preferably engaged by a timing chain including paddles to precisely locate the bulk containers on the conveyor from the bulk container denesting or separation device to the filling station, optional weigh station and to the lidding station. The timing chain with equally spaced paddles or rods together with sensors detect the bulk container and a micro switch operates the fill nozzle only after the bulk container has been detected in the proper position. The combination of sensors and microswitches makes certain fill materials are not released from the nozzle unless the bucket is in proper position and that the later optional weighing of the container does not take place until the filled bulk container is properly positioned.
The denesting and separation of bulk containers is preferably also controlled by sensors and microswitches to make certain that only when space is available between the rods or paddles in the indexing cycle is the next bulk container dropped onto the conveyor platform. This prevents the denester or separation mechanism from operating until the cycle is complete and space is available for the next bulk container.
The filling station preferably includes electronic means for opening and closing the nozzle for metering bulk materials into the bulk container. The electronic means for metering bulk materials into the container can be activated by a volumetric control for metering homogeneous fluidized materials into a bulk container by keeping the nozzle open for a predetermined period of time to meter a fluid material into a bulk container. Alternatively, the electronic means can control the opening and closing of the nozzle based on weight where greater control is required over the amount of bulk material dispensed. A weigh scale is preferably provided below the bulk container to provide a tare weight of the empty container and thereafter fill the container precisely to a predetermined fill weight to precisely control the amount of material dispensed in the bulk container.
The nozzle controlled by the electronic means at the filling station in the best mode is of an elongated tapered configuration which may flare at the end to assist in providing for the efficient filling of the bulk container. The nozzle in the best mode is raised and lowered by a piston cylinder combination to allow bulk material to be introduced first into the bottom of the container and as the container is filled the nozzle is gradually elevated as the bulk container is filled. The movement of the nozzle is coordinated with the filling of the container to increase the efficiency in filling the bulk containers with particulate matter such as soap or flour and in reducing frothing, sloshing and aeration in the case of liquids such as milk and in reducing air voids in the case of thick substances such as frozen ice cream or yogurt.
The electronic means for controlling the fill is further coupled to the optional device for removing and advancing bulk containers from the bulk container stack as well as the means for activating the piston for the sealing operation so that the time for the precise positioning and sealing of one container and the filling of another container is coordinated with the removal and advancement of the bulk containers from the stack of bulk containers. Similarly the electronic control means controls the time for the optional labeling of the container but since the labeling of the container is less than the time for sealing, the rate determinative time is generally the time needed either to fill or position and seal the bulk container which controls the operation of the electric motor for operating the conveyor to advance the containers through the various stations of the novel bulk filler machine. The time required to fill the bulk container is dependent upon the composition of the bulk material so that automated bulk filling machines with a single fill valve in test operations have filled about 10 to 15 bulk containers per minute.
Optionally, the novel bulk filler machine can include an optional accumulation device and an optional gassing apparatus for modifying the atmosphere inside the bulk sealed container before it is sealed. Additionally the novel bulk filler machine may include additional operating stations for treating or processing bulk materials in the container as may be desired in particular bulk filling operations. Such optional stations can include vibration stations, supplemental fill stations or supplemental weigh stations or additive stations for adding additional ingredients as well as supplemental weigh stations along the length of the novel bulk filler machine.
The optional gassing station may be provided at or before the sealing station for modifying the atmosphere in the bulk container before the placement of the lid in registry over the top of the bulk container and the novel attachment of the lid of the bulk container by first pressing the center of the lid of the bulk container to assist in the removal of excess gas. The procedure of first pressing the center of the lid not only assists in the removal of excess gas but also assists in deforming the lid of the container before pressing the rim of the container down into the lip of the bulk container.
The optional accumulation device may also be provided by employing a U-shaped rail for accumulating a desired number of filled, sealed and labeled containers before they are transported in a particular array to a shipment pallet. For example, the shipment array may require sets of two bulk containers or four bulk containers in a group and the U-shaped accumulation device accumulates the containers in the desired number prior to releasing them in the desired array.
The accumulation device can be in the form of a U-shaped rail which is pivotally attached at one end to the novel bulk filler machine and includes at the other end a piston cylinder combination for elevating one end of the U-shaped rail away from the conveyor belt of the novel bulk filler machine to allow groups of containers to be transported from the novel bulk filler machine in a desired array while other bulk containers are being simultaneously moved from filling station to the sealing station and to the labeling stations of the novel bulk filler machine.
The method of filling bulk containers of the invention provides for the simultaneous filling of at least one bulk container by weight or by volume while a previously filled bulk container is simultaneously sealed by first placing the bulk container lid in registry with the lip of the bulk container around the entire perimeter or circumference of the lid before first applying pressure to the center of the lid to force excess gas or fluid from the bulk container before press fitting the mating groove of the lid onto and over the lip of the bulk container. The method of the invention preferably also includes means for precisely positioning the bulk container on the conveyor prior to placing the lid in registry with the lip of the container. The method of the invention also preferably includes automatic removal of a bulk container from the bottom of a stack of bulk containers and delivering the removed bulk container to the inlet of the novel automated bulk filling machine as needed in the automated filling and sealing operation.
The method of the invention optionally further provides for the automatic labeling of a third group of containers at a labeling station as well as the optional accumulation of a further group of containers while providing for the simultaneous filling and sealing of other groups of bulk containers. The method further includes the optional provision for providing for gassing, agitating and adding additional fill or additives stations at other locations along a production line provided by the novel bulk filling machine where groups of containers are simultaneously processed.